Latest from Tamar Hallerman

Half of all residents in 11 Southern states maintain that the United States was founded as an explicitly Christian nation, according to a Winthrop University poll on regional attitudes that was released this morning. The Christian nation belief was particularly strong, as one might expect, among white evangelicals polled. Seventy-six percent...

Like any subset of society, the world of technology has its own culture, its own precepts of what separates good behavior from bad. Some people find certain aspects of that culture baffling – specifically, the topic of cyber security. And many of those people can be found in and around the state Capitol. Over the weekend, our AJC colleague...

If you thought the gubernatorial race brought a deluge of outside money and attention to Georgia, just wait until 2020. Not only will Georgia be a likely battleground state with President Donald Trump on the ballot, but Democrats are also preparing to challenge Republican David Perdue as he competes for a second term in the...

A Texas judge on Friday evening struck down the entire Affordable Care Act nationwide. If the ruling is upheld, it will impact far more than the half-million Georgians who have an insurance plan through the health care exchange. Georgians who’ve never touched the federal health care exchange, including those with employer-sponsored...

Late this summer, federal prosecutors in New York promulgated a 22-page list of Michael Cohen’s sins against the U.S. legal code. The charges against President Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer included this paragraph: On Wednesday, in a non-prosecution agreement, the feds revealed Corporation-1 to be National Enquirer...

When General Electric announced two years ago it picked Atlanta as the home of its new digital division, the corporate giant’s top tech executive was unequivocal: Gov. Nathan Deal’s veto of a “religious liberty” measure paved the way for the move. Now in his final month as governor, Deal on Wednesday celebrated another...

Most Georgia lawmakers on Capitol Hill endorsed a sprawling farm policy bill on Wednesday that dodged a fierce debate over food stamps that had previously divided the state’s delegation, agriculture officials and anti-hunger players. Local farm and commodity groups, as well as the head of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, cheered the...

Since losing the race for governor Stacey Abrams has filed a lawsuit challenging the electoral system, waded into national voting rights debates and dropped hints that she’s preparing for another bid for office. Now she’s made another move that telegraphs “I’m running for something.” Her group, Fair...

Some of Georgia’s top Republican elected officials, agricultural organizations and business development groups cheered the Trump administration’s move Tuesday to roll back a sweeping Obama-era clean water regulation aimed at protecting tributaries to navigable waterways. Georgia has helped lead opposition to the 2015 rule...

The group appointed by Brian Kemp to recommend a new voting system will meet Wednesday for the first time since the election. And a series of recommendations from a panelist obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution sets some goal posts for what they could address. The report from Wenke Lee, a Georgia Tech professor who serves as the panel&rsquo...

The cyber breach of the credit reporting agency Equifax that exposed the sensitive personal data of 148 million Americans last year was “entirely preventable” and due in part to outdated security systems and an unaccountable corporate management structure, according to a blistering report from congressional investigators. The...

As Donald Trump goes back to the drawing board in his search for a new top aide, Georgia operative Nick Ayers is preparing to head home – and launch his next venture. Ayers had been the president’s top choice for chief of staff -- the New York Times reported a press release announcing his hire was even primed to go --...

The House Rural Development Council on Thursday dropped its wish-list for the 2019 session of the Legislature, calling for lawmakers to “revolutionize” the current state system that regulates hospitals, and a lower but expanded sales tax that would cover satellite TV and digital purchases. Given that we just finished a gubernatorial...

The scene on the ground, recounted Albany U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, “was like a war zone.” “It was like a 40-mile-wide tornado,” the Democrat said. “Trees were snapped in half. Pecan orchards were pulled up like weeds.” Eight weeks after Hurricane Michael walloped Bishop’s southwest Georgia district...

In his victory declaration on Wednesday, Secretary of State-elect Brad Raffensperger vowed to defend the broad voter registration purges and strict requirements for absentee balloting, which were implemented by his Republican predecessor and fueled Democratic accusations of disenfranchisement in fall campaigns. From our AJC colleague...

Georgia Republicans can breathe easier this morning. Their lock on statewide constitutional offices remains in place. Some absentee and other ballots have yet to be tallied, but in the race for secretary of state, state Rep. Brad Raffensperger appears to have beaten former Georgia congressman John Barrow, 51.97 to 48.03 percent. In the...

Welcome to Runoff Day, which is something like Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Festivus rolled into a single, united celebration of peace and harmony. For this is the day the robocalls stop. U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., sent out his recorded message last night, at 10:30 p.m. or so, on behalf of Brad Raffensperger, the state House member...

As this year’s midterm battles were heating up, U.S. Sen. David Perdue was quietly laying the groundwork for another crucial campaign: his own re-election bid in 2020. The businessman who surged to office on his outsider credentials in 2014 is preparing for a vastly different sort of election, this one as an incumbent with a growing...

“This is perfect.” Georgia Congresswoman-elect Lucy McBath beamed as she gazed at the Southward vista from her new Capitol Hill office on Friday afternoon. The corner suite was darkened and sparsely decorated — its current tenant, Kentucky Republican James Comer, was still in the process of vacating — but the blue-carpeted...

Georgia Democrats filed a new legal challenge contending that some counties waited until this week to send out absentee ballots for the Dec. 4 runoff, resulting in “arbitrary and disparate treatment” of voters. The federal lawsuit asks a judge to require Secretary of State Robyn Crittenden to order counties to treat absentee mail-in...

Latest from Tamar Hallerman

Half of all residents in 11 Southern states maintain that the United States was founded as an explicitly Christian nation, according to a Winthrop University poll on regional attitudes that was released this morning. The Christian nation belief was particularly strong, as one might expect, among white evangelicals polled. Seventy-six percent...

Like any subset of society, the world of technology has its own culture, its own precepts of what separates good behavior from bad. Some people find certain aspects of that culture baffling – specifically, the topic of cyber security. And many of those people can be found in and around the state Capitol. Over the weekend, our AJC colleague...

If you thought the gubernatorial race brought a deluge of outside money and attention to Georgia, just wait until 2020. Not only will Georgia be a likely battleground state with President Donald Trump on the ballot, but Democrats are also preparing to challenge Republican David Perdue as he competes for a second term in the...

A Texas judge on Friday evening struck down the entire Affordable Care Act nationwide. If the ruling is upheld, it will impact far more than the half-million Georgians who have an insurance plan through the health care exchange. Georgians who’ve never touched the federal health care exchange, including those with employer-sponsored...

Late this summer, federal prosecutors in New York promulgated a 22-page list of Michael Cohen’s sins against the U.S. legal code. The charges against President Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer included this paragraph: On Wednesday, in a non-prosecution agreement, the feds revealed Corporation-1 to be National Enquirer...

When General Electric announced two years ago it picked Atlanta as the home of its new digital division, the corporate giant’s top tech executive was unequivocal: Gov. Nathan Deal’s veto of a “religious liberty” measure paved the way for the move. Now in his final month as governor, Deal on Wednesday celebrated another...

Most Georgia lawmakers on Capitol Hill endorsed a sprawling farm policy bill on Wednesday that dodged a fierce debate over food stamps that had previously divided the state’s delegation, agriculture officials and anti-hunger players. Local farm and commodity groups, as well as the head of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, cheered the...

Since losing the race for governor Stacey Abrams has filed a lawsuit challenging the electoral system, waded into national voting rights debates and dropped hints that she’s preparing for another bid for office. Now she’s made another move that telegraphs “I’m running for something.” Her group, Fair...

Some of Georgia’s top Republican elected officials, agricultural organizations and business development groups cheered the Trump administration’s move Tuesday to roll back a sweeping Obama-era clean water regulation aimed at protecting tributaries to navigable waterways. Georgia has helped lead opposition to the 2015 rule...

The group appointed by Brian Kemp to recommend a new voting system will meet Wednesday for the first time since the election. And a series of recommendations from a panelist obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution sets some goal posts for what they could address. The report from Wenke Lee, a Georgia Tech professor who serves as the panel&rsquo...

The cyber breach of the credit reporting agency Equifax that exposed the sensitive personal data of 148 million Americans last year was “entirely preventable” and due in part to outdated security systems and an unaccountable corporate management structure, according to a blistering report from congressional investigators. The...

As Donald Trump goes back to the drawing board in his search for a new top aide, Georgia operative Nick Ayers is preparing to head home – and launch his next venture. Ayers had been the president’s top choice for chief of staff -- the New York Times reported a press release announcing his hire was even primed to go --...

The House Rural Development Council on Thursday dropped its wish-list for the 2019 session of the Legislature, calling for lawmakers to “revolutionize” the current state system that regulates hospitals, and a lower but expanded sales tax that would cover satellite TV and digital purchases. Given that we just finished a gubernatorial...

The scene on the ground, recounted Albany U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, “was like a war zone.” “It was like a 40-mile-wide tornado,” the Democrat said. “Trees were snapped in half. Pecan orchards were pulled up like weeds.” Eight weeks after Hurricane Michael walloped Bishop’s southwest Georgia district...

In his victory declaration on Wednesday, Secretary of State-elect Brad Raffensperger vowed to defend the broad voter registration purges and strict requirements for absentee balloting, which were implemented by his Republican predecessor and fueled Democratic accusations of disenfranchisement in fall campaigns. From our AJC colleague...

Georgia Republicans can breathe easier this morning. Their lock on statewide constitutional offices remains in place. Some absentee and other ballots have yet to be tallied, but in the race for secretary of state, state Rep. Brad Raffensperger appears to have beaten former Georgia congressman John Barrow, 51.97 to 48.03 percent. In the...

Welcome to Runoff Day, which is something like Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Festivus rolled into a single, united celebration of peace and harmony. For this is the day the robocalls stop. U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., sent out his recorded message last night, at 10:30 p.m. or so, on behalf of Brad Raffensperger, the state House member...

As this year’s midterm battles were heating up, U.S. Sen. David Perdue was quietly laying the groundwork for another crucial campaign: his own re-election bid in 2020. The businessman who surged to office on his outsider credentials in 2014 is preparing for a vastly different sort of election, this one as an incumbent with a growing...

“This is perfect.” Georgia Congresswoman-elect Lucy McBath beamed as she gazed at the Southward vista from her new Capitol Hill office on Friday afternoon. The corner suite was darkened and sparsely decorated — its current tenant, Kentucky Republican James Comer, was still in the process of vacating — but the blue-carpeted...

Georgia Democrats filed a new legal challenge contending that some counties waited until this week to send out absentee ballots for the Dec. 4 runoff, resulting in “arbitrary and disparate treatment” of voters. The federal lawsuit asks a judge to require Secretary of State Robyn Crittenden to order counties to treat absentee mail-in...

Latest from Tamar Hallerman

Half of all residents in 11 Southern states maintain that the United States was founded as an explicitly Christian nation, according to a Winthrop University poll on regional attitudes that was released this morning. The Christian nation belief was particularly strong, as one might expect, among white evangelicals polled. Seventy-six percent...

Like any subset of society, the world of technology has its own culture, its own precepts of what separates good behavior from bad. Some people find certain aspects of that culture baffling – specifically, the topic of cyber security. And many of those people can be found in and around the state Capitol. Over the weekend, our AJC colleague...

If you thought the gubernatorial race brought a deluge of outside money and attention to Georgia, just wait until 2020. Not only will Georgia be a likely battleground state with President Donald Trump on the ballot, but Democrats are also preparing to challenge Republican David Perdue as he competes for a second term in the...

A Texas judge on Friday evening struck down the entire Affordable Care Act nationwide. If the ruling is upheld, it will impact far more than the half-million Georgians who have an insurance plan through the health care exchange. Georgians who’ve never touched the federal health care exchange, including those with employer-sponsored...

Late this summer, federal prosecutors in New York promulgated a 22-page list of Michael Cohen’s sins against the U.S. legal code. The charges against President Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer included this paragraph: On Wednesday, in a non-prosecution agreement, the feds revealed Corporation-1 to be National Enquirer...

When General Electric announced two years ago it picked Atlanta as the home of its new digital division, the corporate giant’s top tech executive was unequivocal: Gov. Nathan Deal’s veto of a “religious liberty” measure paved the way for the move. Now in his final month as governor, Deal on Wednesday celebrated another...

Most Georgia lawmakers on Capitol Hill endorsed a sprawling farm policy bill on Wednesday that dodged a fierce debate over food stamps that had previously divided the state’s delegation, agriculture officials and anti-hunger players. Local farm and commodity groups, as well as the head of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, cheered the...

Since losing the race for governor Stacey Abrams has filed a lawsuit challenging the electoral system, waded into national voting rights debates and dropped hints that she’s preparing for another bid for office. Now she’s made another move that telegraphs “I’m running for something.” Her group, Fair...

Some of Georgia’s top Republican elected officials, agricultural organizations and business development groups cheered the Trump administration’s move Tuesday to roll back a sweeping Obama-era clean water regulation aimed at protecting tributaries to navigable waterways. Georgia has helped lead opposition to the 2015 rule...

The group appointed by Brian Kemp to recommend a new voting system will meet Wednesday for the first time since the election. And a series of recommendations from a panelist obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution sets some goal posts for what they could address. The report from Wenke Lee, a Georgia Tech professor who serves as the panel&rsquo...

The cyber breach of the credit reporting agency Equifax that exposed the sensitive personal data of 148 million Americans last year was “entirely preventable” and due in part to outdated security systems and an unaccountable corporate management structure, according to a blistering report from congressional investigators. The...

As Donald Trump goes back to the drawing board in his search for a new top aide, Georgia operative Nick Ayers is preparing to head home – and launch his next venture. Ayers had been the president’s top choice for chief of staff -- the New York Times reported a press release announcing his hire was even primed to go --...

The House Rural Development Council on Thursday dropped its wish-list for the 2019 session of the Legislature, calling for lawmakers to “revolutionize” the current state system that regulates hospitals, and a lower but expanded sales tax that would cover satellite TV and digital purchases. Given that we just finished a gubernatorial...

The scene on the ground, recounted Albany U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, “was like a war zone.” “It was like a 40-mile-wide tornado,” the Democrat said. “Trees were snapped in half. Pecan orchards were pulled up like weeds.” Eight weeks after Hurricane Michael walloped Bishop’s southwest Georgia district...

In his victory declaration on Wednesday, Secretary of State-elect Brad Raffensperger vowed to defend the broad voter registration purges and strict requirements for absentee balloting, which were implemented by his Republican predecessor and fueled Democratic accusations of disenfranchisement in fall campaigns. From our AJC colleague...

Georgia Republicans can breathe easier this morning. Their lock on statewide constitutional offices remains in place. Some absentee and other ballots have yet to be tallied, but in the race for secretary of state, state Rep. Brad Raffensperger appears to have beaten former Georgia congressman John Barrow, 51.97 to 48.03 percent. In the...

Welcome to Runoff Day, which is something like Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Festivus rolled into a single, united celebration of peace and harmony. For this is the day the robocalls stop. U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., sent out his recorded message last night, at 10:30 p.m. or so, on behalf of Brad Raffensperger, the state House member...

As this year’s midterm battles were heating up, U.S. Sen. David Perdue was quietly laying the groundwork for another crucial campaign: his own re-election bid in 2020. The businessman who surged to office on his outsider credentials in 2014 is preparing for a vastly different sort of election, this one as an incumbent with a growing...

“This is perfect.” Georgia Congresswoman-elect Lucy McBath beamed as she gazed at the Southward vista from her new Capitol Hill office on Friday afternoon. The corner suite was darkened and sparsely decorated — its current tenant, Kentucky Republican James Comer, was still in the process of vacating — but the blue-carpeted...

Georgia Democrats filed a new legal challenge contending that some counties waited until this week to send out absentee ballots for the Dec. 4 runoff, resulting in “arbitrary and disparate treatment” of voters. The federal lawsuit asks a judge to require Secretary of State Robyn Crittenden to order counties to treat absentee mail-in...